RCMP officer killed on-duty remembered by childhood friend
Gavin Trost is recalling fond memories of his childhood neighbour and friend Shelby Patton.
RCMP Const. Patton, 26, initiated a stop with a stolen truck in Wolseley, Sask on Saturday morning. He was struck by the vehicle and later died at the scene.
Trost and Patton attended Yorkdale School and graduated from Yorkton Regional High School, but he hadn’t seen him in a few years.
“I feel awful about it because at a time he was one of my closest friends and I haven’t gotten to talk to him in years and I can’t go back and do that again,” said Trost.
The last time Trost saw Patton was when he and some other friends went to Patton’s place to play video games.
Patton used to organize these game nights for the group, memories Trost looks back on fondly.
Trost said he, Patton and two other close friends played Minecraft together frequently.
“That’s actually like one of the things I still have a copy of,” he said. “It’s still out there on YouTube somewhere, that’s like just honestly good memories of hanging out, having fun playing games.”
Trost remembers Patton as being relatively quiet, but also as the nicest person he knew. Adding Patton was genuinely friendly and happy, and liked to talk to everybody.
“It was hard to be anything but happy when you’re around him,” remembered Trost. “He is one of those people who just always had a smile on his face.”
Becoming an officer was something Patton had been talking about in the last few years of high school, but Trost said he never thought anything like this would ever happen.
When he initially heard the news of Patton’s death from his mom Trost said he couldn’t believe it, but now that it has become a reality he’s missing his old friend.
“I regret not knowing him more and talking to him more,” said Trost.
“I regret not taking all the photos and taking memories of everything because it’s hard to look back on that and have such a great friendship with someone and know someone and then just have nothing in it afterwards besides the memories.”
Trost has been in contact with the other members of the friend group through text, and they also remember Patton as always having a smile on his face.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.